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K’taka implements hike in SC, ST quota
“The notification has been issued and it (the Ordinance) will be tabled during the winter session,” said JC Madhuswamy, Karnataka’s minister of law, parliamentary affairs and legislation.
The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued a notification implementing an enhanced 17% reservation for the Scheduled Castes and 7% for the Scheduled Tribes in the state over a week after the governor gave his assent to an Ordinance brought in to increase the reservation matrix.
“The notification has been issued and it (the Ordinance) will be tabled during the winter session,” said JC Madhuswamy, Karnataka’s minister of law, parliamentary affairs and legislation.
“In the exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (2) of Section 1 of The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointment or Posts in the Services Under the State) Ordinance, 2022 (Karnataka ordinance No:07 of 2022), the Government of Karnataka hereby appoints 01.11.2022 as the date on which all the provisions of the said ordinance shall come into force,” read the notification.
The notification has been issued to the heads of all departments, universities, academic institutions, corporations, boards, commissions, government undertakings, the secretary of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and CEO of Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA).
Karnataka governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on October 23 gave his assent to the state government’s ordinance to increase the quota of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in jobs and admissions to educational institutions.
On October 20, the Karnataka Cabinet had decided to promulgate an ordinance to increase the SC/ST reservation in the state. It came after the government had decided to issue an executive order to increase the quota, however, it later decided to take the ordinance route.
The cabinet on October 8 had accorded its formal approval to increase the SC/ST quota.
The ordinance increases reservations for SCs from 15% to 17% and for STs from 3% to 7%. This will, however, take the reservation tally in Karnataka to 56%, above the 50% cap fixed by the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney judgment.
Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the government’s decision to increase quota for SC/STs lacked legal protection, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of being “anti-reservation”.
“Is there legal or constitutional protection for this? Have they brought it under the 9th Schedule? I demand they mount pressure on the Union government to have it included in the 9th Schedule,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
The Congress leader pointed out that the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission gave its report recommending the quota hike in July 2020. “In every assembly session, our MLAs protested. Did one SC/ST MLA from the BJP protest? They dragged the issue unnecessarily. The ordinance could have been promulgated earlier,” he said.
Until the ordinance came into effect, Karnataka reservation tally stood at 32% for OBCs, 15% for SCs and 3% for STs, totalling to 50%.
Asked if courts will take exception to reservation exceeding 50%, minister Madhuswamy cited a Supreme Court decision that said reservation in states should not exceed 50%, but some states have exceeded the ceiling and there is a provision to do so “under special circumstances”.
“We will introduce it under the 9th Schedule, because it has judicial immunity. Tamil Nadu did it under Schedule 9 to increase reservations to 69%. We will recommend to the Union government to amend the Constitution,” he added.
